Twenty-One and Father’s Day

Twenty-one and Father’s Day are the two big milestones we’re celebrating today. Of course, I’m also celebrating the fact that 21 years ago I was blessed to become a mother. Motherhood is an extraordinary gift, but being a mom to Jake goes beyond any earthly blessing I’ve ever received. When he was born, we were kids ourselves. He’s been our ride and die from day one. How lucky are we? Now he’s grown up and carving out an amazing future for himself in the military. Sadly, we’re not able to be with him today due to COVID19, but we’re together in spirit. Jake had wanted to share his first legal beer in the US with his dad, but the timing was a bit off. Fortunately, Jake was able to drink a beer with his dad while we were in Norway.

For twenty-one years Jake has been the center of our universe. I remember the day he arrived as if it was yesterday. My doctor was on vacation during the 38th week of my pregnancy. She made me promise that I would not go into labor until after 5:00 pm on June 20th. Fortunately, Jake and I were very compliant patients and my water broke at 1:10 am on the 21st. I figured that I’d end up needed a c-section like my mom, so you can imagine my surprise when he was born later that morning. From the minute he arrived, he was so sweet and loving. I was lucky that he was my first baby because he was so easy. Actually, his brothers are lucky that he was such an easy baby. If he had been like them as a baby, Jake may have ended up being an only child.

Jake’s First Day of Kindergarten
Last hug before Jake left for BMT

Jake changed our whole family’s world in ways that we never could have anticipated. You always have a certain perspective of your parents and then you become a parent and that perspective changes. Then you get to see them as grandparents, which is an awesome role. Jake was blessed with six grandparents, five great grandparents, and a great great grandmother when he was born. He was also blessed with aunts and uncles that have played a pivotal role in his life. In fact, they still play a pivotal role in his life. He was also blessed to spend a lot of time with his Great Grandma T as she babysat him while I was in school. To this day, they remain thick as thieves. Their relationship is a special gift.

My Parents’ Birthday greeting for Jake

Naturally, we were sad we couldn’t be there to celebrate his golden birthday with him. I assure you, however, that we’ll celebrate his birthday and his accomplishments when we see him again. When will that be you ask, I don’t know. He’s still in tech school and from there will move on to his base. Due to COVID, there are some regulations on the troops’ movements, so we’re playing it by ear. It’s a bit insane. Fortunately, my time as a hockey mom has prepared me well for my role as a military mom. I’m sure once he’s operational and traveling, my iteration of military mom will be quite similar to me as a goalie mom. If I had to guess, there will be some high anxiety and stressful moments. Nonetheless, I can’t wait to see him. It’s been great to see his awakening and call to a higher purpose.

While he was busy being awesome in the Air Force, my hubby was spending his Father’s Day working. Since he was working, the boys and I hung out around home with the puppies. I changed my routine a bit, so I went to yoga yesterday instead of today. Consequently, I ran today instead of running yesterday, which gave me an additional day of rest. Naturally, I watched Curb throughout the workout. Fortunately, it was my favorite Curb episode where he accidentally puts the condom on backwards. It is absolutely ridiculously funny. Thankfully, the extra day of rest minimized pain in the foot and maximized my performance. The fun when really well. Originally, I had hoped to run outside this weekend, but with a dew point at 80 that wasn’t going to happen.

After the run, we cleaned up a bit and made sure we had beer and steaks ready for dinner. I made roasted purple onions and potato wedges to go along with homemade cheeseburgers. This was another Blue Apron meal kit dinner and it was awesome. The recipe was easy to follow and mighty tasty. While I worked on the burgers, the hubby fired up the grill for the steaks I had bought. This was the easiest way to ensure that the hubby and Goalielocks would have enough red meat to leave them satiated. Meanwhile, the Mayor continues to be picking and unwilling to try new foods. Goalielocks and the Mayor have undergone a complete role reversal on this issue. Just when my picky eater starts to be an adventurous eater, my adventurous eater decides to be a picky eater. I can’t win to lose.

Here’s a list of our day’s activities:

*The Life of Charlotte Bronte by Elizabeth Gaskells

*Morning and afternoon meditation

*Gentle Flow with Jenn at Open Heart Yoga

*Thought of ways to incorporate the word cove into my blog.

*Took obligatory picture of Anakin!

*Watched a ripple in a puddle

*Obedience training Anakin

*Week 5 BBG 2.0 day 7 run!!!

*Took Anakin, Maya and Athena out for a walk

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It’s Hump Day

It’s hump day and it’s been 1 day since the Lorbach’s have been in the ER.  It almost feels like a new record after our recent run of ER visits.  After all, in two weeks we’ve been to two urgent cares and three ERs.  We told Goalielocks that he’s tapped out on ER visits for the year after last night.  I wish the doctor visits were over, but to ensure Goalielocks’ continued we’ll be seeing a concussion expert at Children’s Hospital, his primary care doctor and a chiropractor.  We’ve been so focused on the head injury that I want to make sure we rule out any injury to his neck or cervical spine that may be causing the headaches.

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The fact is concussions and their ramifications are quite scary.  If he were to go back to hockey too early and get hurt, it could sideline him for another 6 months, sideline him forever from contact sports or worse.  He, of course, is fourteen and love his sport, so he’s anxious to get back.  Fortunately, the ER doctors have been quite explicit with him about the dangers of returning too early.  In the meantime, we’re treating the headaches with ibuprofen, Tylenol, rest and essential oils.  (Thanks for the recommendation DA.)

Meanwhile, I’m physically, emotionally and mentally exhausting.  The ER visits, worrying about a potential brain bleed (twice), being in the ER away from home, worrying about the concussion and his recovery and anticipating the medical bills has taken quite the toll.  At last last night, I had the hubby with me, so I wasn’t alone in the experience or stress of it all.   Importantly, the clear CT scan erased any worries about the presence of brain bleed.  The CT scan provided peace of mind that was needed after the mix up in New Hampshire and Boston

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Today was a much better day for Goalielocks as the ibuprofen has been very effective in controlling his headaches.  Today is also my SIL’s 40th birthday.  Happy birthday M!  As the Mayor said in the car tonight, “There’s no way M’s 40.  She doesn’t look a day over 37. ”  It was super sweet.  My boys love their aunt and wish we could be with her (and their cousins of course) to celebrate her birthday.

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